The Employees' Compensation Ordinance, Cap. 282

Compulsory Insurance

Content

According to section 40 of the Ordinance, no employer shall employ any employee in any employment unless there is in force a policy of insurance to cover his liabilities under the laws (including the common law) for injuries at work in respect of all his employees, irrespective of the length of employment contract or working hours, full-time or part-time employment. Should there be any queries on legal liability, employers should seek professional legal advice.

The minimum insurance cover should be for an amount:

An employer who fails to comply with the Ordinance to secure an insurance cover is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years .

Moreover, under the Employees' Compensation Assistance Ordinance, Chapter 365 of the Laws of Hong Kong, an employer who fails to comply with the compulsory insurance requirement is liable to pay a surcharge to the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board.

For any information concerning the list of insurers underwriting employees' compensation insurance, please click here to access to the relevant website of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers.

For information concerning the extended insurance coverage to the Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area, please click here to access to the relevant website of the Insurance Authority.

According to section 40 of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, no employer shall employ any employee in any employment unless there is in force a policy of insurance to cover his liabilities under the laws (including the common law) for injuries at work in respect of all his employees, irrespective of the length of employment contract or working hours, full-time or part-time, permanent job or temporary employment. Hence, an employer must take out an employees' compensation insurance policy for his part-time local domestic helper as required by the law.

When taking out an employees' compensation insurance policy, an employer should take note of the following statutory minimum insurance cover :

When taking out an employees’ compensation insurance policy, employers should take note of the followings:

• No deduction should be made from the earnings of an employee for defraying the cost of taking out employees’ compensation insurance policies;
• Ensuring that all employees are covered by the insurance policy and that when the number of employees increases, the employer should notify the insurer accordingly as soon as possible;
• Giving a detailed declaration to the insurer on the annual earnings and job duties of individual employees;
• Listing the usual work locations of employees;
• Stating specifically those employees who are required to work outside Hong Kong or take overseas business trips;
• Stating specifically whether any work is sub-contracted to sub-contractor and stating clearly whether the employees of the sub-contractor are covered by the policy; and
• Bewaring of the expiry date of the insurance policy and taking action to renew the insurance policy in advance to ensure that the insurance cover is not interrupted and to avoid contravention of the Ordinance.
  

• The employer must notify the Commissioner for Labour of any work accident or prescribed occupational disease by Form 2, Form 2A or Form 2B, as the case may be. Work injury cases in general should be reported in 14 days’ time while the fatal cases in 7 days’ time;
• The employer should notify the insurer (not the insurance broker) as soon as possible, within the stipulated period and in the specified format (in writing or by specified form) required by the insurer;
• The employer should also keep a record of the periodical payments (i.e.payments for sick leaves for work injury) paid to the injured employee, the original copies of the Certificate of Compensation Assessment (Form 5) issued by the Labour Department and / or the Certificate of Assessment (Form 7) issued by the Employees’ Compensation Assessment Board, medical certificates and receipts in respect of medical expenses properly; and submit the relevant documents to the insurer within the stipulated period and in the specified format required by the insurer for indemnifying the amount of compensation already paid to the injured employee; and
• On receiving any legal documents, including an order or a summons issued by the Court, the employer should notify his insurer the soonest possible or seek legal advice.